Why Digital Renderings Matter in Commercial Real Estate

Virtual technology is meant to look as real as a photograph but has the potential to tell a deeper and more meaningful story. Here, Neoscape‘s Chief Creative Officer Rodrigo Lopez on why digital renderings matter.

When the Blackstone Group was ready to market what had been the New York Times’s headquarters since 1913, the real estate investment firm had a specific tenant in mind – namely, Yahoo! — to occupy the spacious building on 229 West 43rd Street in Manhattan. Image courtesy of Neoscape.

Real estate developers and brokers are relying more heavily than ever on digital renderings and virtual designs to convey commercial office space, often before it is even built, to lease up space not just more quickly and economically than real showrooms or actual photographs, but more effectively. Renderings help communicate a vision that is much more palpable and “real.” Here are three reasons why:

They show off the possibilities

Renderings show more than just the furniture and flooring materials in an office space. A rendering is aimed at the end user – it shows both the possibilities and personality of a space. If a physical space or address does not yet exist, or its current form is unappealing, digital renderings can go beyond showing floor plans or basic design, instead conveying a concept that might appeal to a particular audience. Commercial developers need their spaces to expand a company’s brand. It’s crucial to understand the audience and capture every detail, from a target tenant’s brand colors to details of a collaborative work area, which can be strategically crafted to create an appealing scene, set a tone and capture a culture.

“A rendering is aimed at the end user — it shows both the possibilities and personality of a space.” Image courtesy of Neoscape.

They can be personalized

When the Blackstone Group was ready to market what had been the New York Times’s headquarters since 1913, the real estate investment firm had a specific tenant in mind – namely, Yahoo! — to occupy the spacious building on 229 West 43rd Street in Manhattan. Renderings showed the inside of the building – the office space in a way that Yahoo! could relate to – couches throughout, large collaborative areas, large blank walls with room for IdeaPaint and an area for games. These renderings helped close the gap on the leap people make when they are shown generic images of a sterile office space. The icing on the cake to sign Yahoo! at 229 West 43rd Street? A rendering that showed Yahoo’s! name on top of the building (see above).

Here, the inside of the NYT building (shown at top) as imagined for Yahoo! Image courtesy of Neoscape.

They are more efficient and effective than a physical example

Sometimes all it takes is a little imagination and creativity to hook a future tenant. In this case, photo-real 3D visualization is much more efficient than taking the time and resources to set up a physical showroom. Likewise, the time required to make changes to a physical set with different furniture, conference rooms or layouts, may be less effective than a virtual image can convey. In addition, several renderings can be used to show multiple angles, areas and views at the same time. It allows the viewer to get the full story of the office space, evoking a feeling that might appeal to a specific audience.

Image courtesy of Neoscape.

Virtual designs are effective because they are easily adapted to any sales situation, and can convey both the emotion and the data needed for tenants to make a property decision in a crowded marketplace. It’s all about the end user and putting yourself in their shoes. The images need to embody a company’s culture and show the possibilities.

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As Chief Creative Officer at Neoscape, Rodrigo assumes creative leadership across the Boston and New York studios and serves as a steward for the Neoscape brand. With Neoscape since 2003, he spearheads the company's commitment to visionary creative and inspired innovation. His main focus is to define and design marketing campaigns that deliver a more integrated, comprehensive experience across all media touchpoints.

2 Comments

Wow, GREAT article and wonderful renderings. Could you tell what types of techniques you used to capture the existing buildings as built condition? Did you take original architectural drawings and model off of those? Did you use HD Scanning technology to capture a 3D model of the existing. Also If I were to want to get into this field of Architectural Illustration what path would you suggest?